1953 Schwinn Hollywood & 1971 Grey Ghost - The Tovar Bike Club

Two Classic and Custom American Beauties

For Daniel Tovar of Cypress, California, customizing is part of his family's upbringing and tradition. Before he set his plans of modifying one of these bikes to his style and design, he acquired the frame from his famous but very modest uncle Michael, who was cleaning out his shed and found it inside. "He offered it to me, so I brought it home and cleaned the frame down to its bear metal," he says. By doing so, Daniel found the bike's serial number. "I then found out that it was a rare 1971 Schwinn Grey Ghost Krate frame, but that didn't stop me from turning it into a lowrider mini beach cruiser."

Daniel prepped it and painted it with a House of Kolor Candy Raspberry. We know that there is a whole lot of talent put into this bike build, but since his uncle wasn't visiting or giving tips and ideas, Daniel gets all the credit on this one. He equipped this modern classic with beach cruiser parts that he had customized to make them look like they were made to fit his 20-inch frame and design. The bike is known as "The American Dream" and is one of a kind too.

The second bike is named "California Beauty" and it came about after he completed his custom stretched cruiser that was featured in the July 2014 issue of LOWRIDER Magazine. As summer was approaching and he was getting ready to cruise the beach in his custom two-wheeler, his very supportive girlfriend Alexandria asked "What about me? I need a rolling Tovar artwork too!"

Daniel agreed with her and hit the swap meets until he found this 1953 Schwinn Hollywood. "I disassembled the bike and sent out what needed to be chromed over to Sergio Herrera of Metal Finishing Marketers in Los Angeles. From there the frame was delivered to Mike over at Nu-Tec Powder Coating in Anaheim, California, to mix up a nice eye-catching candy teal." Daniel made sure that the bike was fully equipped with all the options that were offered in its day, from front and rear racks to rear crash bars.

Victor Melgoza tastefully wood-grained and painted a compass that was mounted on the gooseneck for all to see. "This bike came to the detailed finish just in time for that summer cruise along the ocean's coast," Daniel Tovar says. "Looking back, this was always my American Dream while still growing up as a kid." I don't know, but the uncles better watch out! The time is coming when Daniel might just stumble on a bomb find?